FRC hires new coaching staff

7/21/2010 - Feather River College has hired three new coaches to lead its football, soccer and cross country teams during the fall sports season, which begins in a month.

Football: J.D. Johnson

After being the assistant head coach and defensive coordinator for the Golden Eagles for one year, J.D. Johnson will be taking over as head coach for 2010.

Johnson came to Feather River one year ago with his wife, Jeni, and three children. The couple has two daughters, Ren and Cali, 12 and 8, and a three-year-old son, Jack.

Johnson is a native of Colorado Springs, Col., where he was raised by his parents Doug and Kathy. Johnson went on to play college ball at the University of Northern Colorado, where he earned his degree in Journalism and Mass Communications.

As a member of the Bears, Johnson was a defensive back and special teams player, helping lead the team to its first ever Division II National Championship in 1996.

After college, Johnson began his 13-year coaching career at Saint Mary's college of California as a graduate assistant. Johnson later went on to coach at Nichols College and Loras College as the defensive coordinator, Colorado State University as an offensive assistant, and Southern Oregon University and the University of Wisconsin-Stout as a defensive and offensive assistant.

While working at these colleges, Johnson also worked as an academic advisor and was an active member in each community by starting various reading and "Get Fit" programs in the elementary schools.

Johnson led his defenses to the top of the league in multiple statistical categories. Johnson also helped develop student-athletes to all-conference, all-region, and all-American status, and a handful of players made it to the NFL and Arena League.

"I am excited to take the strong tradition at FRC to the next level," said Johnson. "We have a good core of student-athletes and coaches, and I believe that we will be very successful. I want to win a conference championship and a bowl game to mark as my first indicator of success, but most importantly, I want my team to make a positive impact at Feather River and in the Quincy community."

Soccer: Don Williams

Don Williams came to FRC after 12 seasons as an assistant coach at Cal State East Bay. His duties at Cal State East Bay included training the goalkeepers, recruiting and assisting with the daily coaching duties, on and off the field.

Prior to his arrival at Cal State East Bay, Williams served as the head coach for the Ohlone College men and as an assistant for the men's team at Chabot College. Williams also served as a coach for the Bay Area Seals of the United Soccer Leagues (USL) in 2000.

Williams is also involved in training goalkeepers for the Northern California Olympic Development Program (ODP) and serves as a staff coach for the Northern California Youth Soccer Association (CYSA). In this capacity, Williams teaches and licenses coaches in National "D" courses and all other CYSA coaching courses. He has also been a featured clinician at the CYSA equipment show and CYSA Annual General Meeting four times.

Through his innovative training methods, Williams has trained players to go on to play in England, Germany, the MLS, the USL, as well as all levels of collegiate soccer. In addition, Williams' players have been selected to play at all national youth levels including the ODP and U.S. Youth National teams.

Williams holds an "A" Coaching License with the United States Soccer Federation and is a National Diploma graduate with the National Soccer Coaches Association of America.

Williams' approach to training is simply to analyze what happens in a game and to devise training methods that simulate this environment.

"If it doesn't happen in a game, I don't do it in training," said Williams.

Williams has become one of the top soccer coaches and trainers for teams, field players and goalkeepers in Northern California and provides camps, team trainings and various clinics in California throughout the year. His favorite soccer quote is also his training philosophy: "The way you train is the way you play."

Cross Country: Dan Smith

Daniel Smith is a 20-year resident of Plumas County and a Quincy High School graduate. Following high school, Smith attended Santa Barbara City College, where he discovered his passion for track and field and mentored under retired coach Payton Jordan.

In his freshman year, Smith competed in the 5000- and 1000-meter races. Changing gears his sophomore year, Smith competed in all three jumping events: the triple jump, long jump and high jump.

In addition, Smith ran the 110-high hurdles, 400-meter hurdles and 4x400 meter relay, and he also threw javelin.

After graduating from Santa Barbara City College, Smith transferred to Chico State University to pursue a degree in Physical Education. Smith played on the Chico State basketball team for the remainder of his undergraduate years under coach Puck Smith.

Smith received his undergraduate degree in physical education and then went on to complete his Masters degree in Kinesiology.

Smith has been the assistant athletic trainer at Feather River College for the past two years. Currently, he competes in 5K and 10K races annually, as a way of healthy living.

As a highly motivated and energetic new coach, Smith is looking forward to his first year coaching at FRC and building a successful, community-based local cross country/track and field program.